iPod on different computers

Im sure this question has been answered before but i really want to make sure. I just bought my first ipod ( 4gb nano Red version) and i am very very happy with it, only problem is that i dont want the original earbuds to get demaged so im using some old ones i had before. Anyways, i have 2 computers and i sync my new ipod with one of them, so i want to know if i can upload songs from either one of the computers with no problems. i've heard that you need to erase all the contents in order to upload songs from another computer but i think apple is better than that. I ask because my brother who owns an ipod video told me he was able to tranfers songs using another computer without erasing the contents his ipod had. Also, what if i want to hear music on my work computer using the computer spakers instead of the ipod using songs that are stored on the ipod? I hope someone is able to help me.

First thing you need to do is to turn on the "manually manage my music". This way your iTunes does not sync automatically when you plug it into a computer.

Second, are your computers Windows or Mac? If your iPod is formatted to Mac (determined by the first computer you plug in to and sync from), it won't work on Windows, but will work on other Macs. If it's formatted to Windows, it will work on all computers, even Macs. Therefore, if you're operating on both Mac and Windows, make sure to format your iPod to Windows.

Now you should be set. Plug your iPod into whatever computer you want and copy music manually to your iPod's music library. Don't forget to manually eject.

Another helpful tip is that once on the iPod, you cannot copy music back to another computer. It's there in iPod purgatory forever (unless you use various programs that copy it back for you...it's just not as simply as a thumb drive, for example).

As far as playing your music from your work computer, this is very simple. Either:
1-plug in your iPod and it will show up in iTunes and play music from your music as always.
or
2-unplug the sound output cable from your computer and plug it into your iPod's headphone jack.

If you're using Mac, download a free copy of Senuti from senuti.com. (itunes spelled backwards) It works just like iTunes, but you can pull songs from your iPod to your hard drive. You can even have them copied directly to your iTunes folder. Super easy to use.

The few programs I've used on a PC for this purpose are a little more complicated.

To play your iPod at work through your computer speakers. Plug you iPod into your computer as normal. Open itunes, and as long as your iPod is set to "manually manage songs" you'll be able to select the iPod from the list on the left hand side and play the songs that are on your iPod as if they were in iTunes.

I'm over in New Zealand travelling and I have my ipod with me, and I'm trying to add more music to the ipod but i can not remember if i have selected manually manage music or not The Question is can i check with out potentially wiping all my music, photos and films please help!
I would be gutted if i lost any of it seeing as all my other music is back in the UK and my photos are only on the ipod.

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